fimpson

Hi,
just got my rear wheel completely rebuilt from the original hub outwards due to a rim failure (wheel was as old as the bike, ~1985) with a very nice new performance wheel custom built buy a local bike wheel expert/nut! - now I'm thinking I want him to do a front wheel to match, but I want to do it with an 18 or 24 hole hub to cut down on wind resistance, weight, waiting time, cost etc. - the original ones are 36 holers, but the wheel guy said with the high-grade rim he used, he would usually run 24 holes as its more than strong enough, so basically now I have an unnecessarily invincible rear wheel!

question:
are there any shimano 600 hb-6207 hubs I can get that arent 32 or 36 hole? can't seem to find any but pretty sure they are out there. if not is there another family like the 6400 that have matching dimensions?
i know its a broad question but hoping someone has looked into this as the 600 hubs seem to be pretty common in general.

cheers

lord_athlon

Just do a 32h front and be done with it.

Sir_Name 

I can't help on the hub question much (would be surprised if 600 hubs are available in those low spoke counts), but I'd be hesitant (wouldn't) use a 24 spoke wheel on anything but a bike being used IN a race or TT. Not training. I don't race, but that comment stands...

Post reads as if the rear is 36, correct? 32 up front would be my choice if you want to drop some decimal points. Your weight will have a major impact on the decision.

What's the use of this bike? What are the rims? How are your roads? etc.

repechage

In that era, 16 would not exist, unless you took a 32 and skipped holes.
I am pretty sure for a 24 hole from that era, Dura Ace maybe, but even 28 would be rare.

clasher

There were 28 hole 640x tri-colour hubs made, I've seen one languishing in the display at my local co-op but it's a rear. I would imagine they made a matching front hubs with 28 holes too. Dura-ace fronts were also made in 28 holes back in 80s too, probably similar enough to a 6200 that most people wouldn't notice at first glance.

IthaDan 

18h is easy- use every other hole in a 36h hub. To do 24h it'd be a bit trickier- you'd need to use 2 out of every 3 holes on a 36h hub, but the spokes would have to be slightly different lengths and the angles wouldn't necessarily be symmetrical.

Matching dimensions? Well, just about every front hub made in the last 40 years is made for a 100mm dropout width. Since you're talking about drastically changing spoke counts, I'd imagine that you would have a completely new rim, and while you (your wheel builder) are at it you'd use spokes and nipples, so I'm not exactly sure what you mean by dimensions.

fimpson

im 6'3" 80kg, bike is a daily commuter so weight + backpack, roads are hilly which made me want to go lighter up front, but not potholey (sydney). can't say exactly what the new rim is as this guy ordered it himself - all I know is its the same rim he puts on his $1g high-spec race wheels and i got it for 250.

he told me a bunch of times he always does them 24h and 36h was overkill for these rims but I already had the hub. 32h is the most likely option atm, but I feel like I see high-spoked rears and much-lower-spoked fronts all the time on bikes like mine and it makes sense to me.

what modern hub could i look at thats most comparable to the 600s?

jmeb

You're talking about saving a couple grams on a commuter build? I don't think you're going to find much love for this approach here. 32/36 were the standard because they make strong, reliable wheels for things like commuting. If you're carrying a backpack, the is a bunch more weight in there than the difference between a 24 spoke and 32 spoke rim.

You'll have a hard time convincing people here that a 24 spoked wheel is a good idea for anything but TTing, racing or hill climbing. If its that important to you just buy a set of modern wheels for actual weight and aero benefits.

IthaDan 

Post a picture of hubs you're replacing.

I can't really suss out what exactly you're asking, but it sounds like you'd like a similar looking hub to the one already built into the back wheel.

fimpson

yes you're right, sorry, I was thinking about flange width..

as far as respoking with less spokes than holes, I should put that to him. i guess i need to find out if these rims are good for 18h first.

fimpson

I take my commuting very seriously.

sure this bike probably won't ever be timed in milliseconds but I thought it would be fun to do a race styled build


I really just wanted to know if shimano were doing low-hole hubs back then. sounds like not really so a similar looking one would be interesting.

Sir_Name 

Thanks.

"All modern hubs of decent quality have aluminum spoking flanges. Better-quality hubs are usually made by forging, and only forged hubs should be used for radial-spoked front wheels. I would generally advise avoiding overpriced "boutique" hubs which are made by CNC machining, since their flanges are usually weaker than those of forged hubs."
-Sheldon Brown, from: Wheelbuilding

Pay attention if radial lacing is considered. Also note that lower spoke counts require higher spoke tensions, you and the builder should both be certain that all hardware is up to the task. Read through the entirety of the above link. I'm not necessarily trying to dissuade you from a low-count front, but be careful. Front wheels ain't nothing to mess with. Be ready to true the front if going with less spokes. 36 or 32 may be overbuilt, but that's generally a positive attribute for a commuter. Plus, if it's heavy it's better training. Again, decimal points here once we factor in rider weight and aerodynamics. I do appreciate light, zippy wheels, so I understand where you're coming from. Maybe have two sets built. Personally, I'd be more concerned with tire choice than a low spoke count.

lord_athlon

The weight difference between a 18 spoke wheel and 32 spoke wheel is ~90 grams.

Sir_Name 

0.1% (ratio of 0.001) of a combined rider/bike weight of 90kg. Decimal points. Brandt or Schraner discuss aerodynamics of low count - effect is basically nil except for the most extreme cases (TdF TT) if I remember correctly.

Even still fimpson, experiment. Do what you want/enjoy.